The privatization of telecommunications services: The case of Argentina

The Argentine telecommunications system is characterized by its poor quality of service. A deep national economic crisis and a huge fiscal deficit, combined with worldwide changes in the telecommunications sector, lead the Argentine government to the privatization of ENTel beginning in 1989. Herrera provides a detailed account of the economics surrounding the decision to privatize and the privatization program itself.     

Sexual-harassment policies for the workplace: A tale of two companies

To avoid liability and legal costs, retain talented people, and preserve customers' goodwill, a company must have in place a carefully devised policy for dealing with sexual-harassment claims.     

Framing the usefulness of eHRM in talent management: A case study of talent identification in a professional services firm

As talent management evolves from intuitive to evidence‐based decision‐making, the role of electronic Human Resource Management (eHRM) to gather, distribute, and analyze data becomes more critical. However, surprisingly few academic studies investigate the role of technology in talent management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of talent management in a large professional services firm, this paper critically examines how eHRM information technologies are framed as useful within talent identification discourses. The findings reveal two distinct but interrelated sets of processes employed to identify talent and suggest that the perceived usefulness and centrality of eHRM are influenced by how stakeholders shape their understanding of effective talent management. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Function-space revenue management: A case study from Singapore

Hotels can apply revenue-management systems to their function spaces—and boost the revenue contribution from those spaces.     

International cash management: A study of the practices of U.K.-based companies

Little information is available on the current practices of cash and foreign-exchange management by companies—especially outside the United States. The purpose of this survey was to investigate responsibilities and practices of international cash management. Although the survey had a much broader scope, this article addresses six important issues with regard to cash and foreign-exchange management: policy and responsibility, centralization versus decentralization, cash-flow planning and foreign-exchange forecasting, banking relationships and cash management services, hedging translation and transaction exposures, conflicts with other departments. Although the size of the sample is too small to permit statistically significant conclusions, some interesting findings can be drawn from this study.     

Co-operatively re-engineering a financial services information supply chain: A case study

This paper presents a case study of the co-operative design, development, and implementation of an XBRL-enabled interorganizational system (IOS) by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank), and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to revolutionize reporting by financial institutions in Australia. The findings illustrate that the complexity of data consumption patterns drove increased interdependence within the financial information supply chain requiring the co-operative development of context sensitive data exchanges and commodity-like IT infrastructures. The paper concludes that the co-operative model to IOS development exhibited here is likely to be more suited to the development of systems for financial information supply chains than the hub and spoke model characteristic of IOS in other sectors. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A supply chain management framework for services

While services represent the largest sector of the global economy, 86.8% in the United States, most supply chain management (SCM) research is focused on product flows. Executives in manufacturing firms have benefited from frameworks created to implement SCM processes, but this is not the case for their counterparts in service companies. The two most cited SCM frameworks for services have methodological and conceptual deficiencies. Drawing upon the service-dominant logic of marketing and using an empirical research approach, we developed supply chain structure maps for nine service firms. Our findings indicate that the supply chain structure maps of service companies are comparable to those in the product-based literature, which supports the service-dominant logic. Then, we identified the six key processes that constitute a framework to manage service supply chains. The customer relationship management and the supplier relationship management processes form the critical links in the supply chain, and the other four processes are coordinated through this linkage. The SCM framework for services provides direction for executives in service firms who need to increase cross-functional integration within their firms and with other members of the supply chain. For academics, 12 avenues for future research are identified.     

Environmental management systems: an alternative marketing strategy for sustainability

The purpose of the paper is to shed light on the extent to which environmental management systems such as ISO 14000 standards influence marketing efforts. By examining firms who prefer ISO 14000 standards against those who do not, this research provides a platform for understanding their significance when applied to marketing and seeks to improve environmental marketing strategies. The study empirically tests whether statistically significant differences exist between the two groups on a set of marketing variables. The study uses hierarchical clustering Ward’s method and measurement using squared Euclidean distances to determine the two groups. Discriminant analysis (DA) was used to classify each of the observations into selected groups; and test differences between these groups. Stepwise DA identified customer satisfaction as the best marketing predictor. This research indicates that green market-driven solutions for responsible consumption work best when it is consumer-driven, and consumers derive satisfaction from those results. The results adopts the view that investing in IS0 14000 standards is also highly beneficial for the wider applicability of developing strategies that would help firms make better decisions in marketing.     

Exploring customer sentiment regarding online retail services: A topic-based approach

User-generated content is a valuable source for understanding online shoppers' emotions. Using text-mining techniques, this study identifies seven topics regarding online retail services in online posts: product, retailer promotion, delivery, payment, communication, return/refund, and price. The topics are associated with the sentiment polarity of online shoppers' posts. This study further explores whether the emotional responses from domestic and cross-border online shoppers differ with regard to these topics. The results show that differences exist in these two groups' sentiments concerning product and payment. Furthermore, there are differences in the two groups’ respective negative emotions (i.e., anger, sadness, and fear) concerning delivery, communication, and return/refund. The findings of this study provide online retailers with important managerial implications.     

Why do successful companies fail? A case study of the decline of Dunlop

This article examines the internal and external factors that contributed to the decline of Dunlop. For much of its history Dunlop operated in a protected home market or instigated strategies to restrict competition. This enabled Dunlop to dominate the British tyre industry. The complacency and inertia of management was exposed by a number of external jolts that produced radical environmental changes. Management failed to develop appropriate strategies which led to large losses in an industry suffering from overcapacity. Plant closures and the divestment of the European tyre operations were implemented to reduce company debt. This turnaround strategy proved to be a temporary respite as Dunlop was acquired by BTR.     

Exploring the determinants of usage continuance willingness for location-based apps: A case study of bicycle-based exercise apps

This paper investigates how mobile app design and social media can be used to influence the intention for continued use of location-based mobile apps. Uses and gratification theory and information systems success model are used to explore the key factors of continued usage intention. Three hundred and fifty-six valid questionnaires were collected to test the research model. The results showed that perceived usefulness, enjoyment, sense of belonging would significantly influence the usage habit and satisfaction of bicycle-based exercise app. In particular, the habit and satisfaction had strong impact on the intention for continued use. This study extended the findings of exercises with mobile apps and provided implications for the developers and operators of fitness and leisure-oriented apps.     

Environmental uncertainty and environmental management perception: A multiple case study

This paper seeks to answer two questions about environmental uncertainty. (1) How does environmental uncertainty differ across sectors? (2) How can environmental uncertainty impact on managers’ perceptions of the natural environment as a competitive opportunity? The analysis of the nature, sources and extent of environmental uncertainty serves to identify its different components, which fall into two main categories. These categories associate with the information-related environmental uncertainty approach and with the natural resource dependence theory. A multiple case study helps highlight the similarities and differences in the perceptions of environmental uncertainty of the managers of eight Spanish firms belonging to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The findings show that environmental uncertainty is inherent in managerial decisions in two ways: in the changes that managers identify in the business environment; and in the changes that the managers themselves produce as a result of the initiatives they undertake in response to the business environment. The paper finishes with some recommendations for managers.     

Organisational citizenship behaviours and effectiveness: an empirical study in two small insurance companies

The study relates six dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB) at the branch level with several indicators of the effectiveness of 38 branches of two insurance companies. Results suggest that the branches where employees display more OCB are the most effective. These findings are discussed in the context of a scarcity of empirical studies on the topic, despite researchers' assumption that OCB enhances team and organisational effectiveness.     

Commercialising innovation internationally: A case study of social network and relationship management

The purpose of this paper was to explore the role of network participants when commercialising high-technology innovation internationally and specifically how the participants establish and manage their respective network relationships. This case study focuses on an international new venture based in the South Pacific and some of the actors and brokers it touched and interacted with on its journey to commercialise a high-technology innovation internationally. How participants established and managed network relationships was found to vary. New venture managers were open and freely engaging in new relationships, whereas brokers were reserved and constrained in their establishment of relationships. Brokers emphasised the need to qualify benefits arising from relationships and protect their reputations and moderate the demands made of their contacts. In some cases, international new ventures were deemed not ready for the services provided by a broker. The study has implications for research as similarities and contrasts between participants are identified. For practitioners, the study stresses the need to be aware of the potential costs and risks that their actions may have on brokers.     

Total quality management,institutional isomorphism and performance: the case of financial services

This article concentrates on the relationship between the number of years that the firms have been implementing total quality management and the impact its practice can have on performance. The literature provides studies revealing that the last firms to introduce total quality management fail partly due to the fact that they imitate the implementation strategy used. Based on a sample of 77 Spanish financial companies, this paper provides evidence of the concept of institutionalisation as a process by which different management practices are generalised. The conclusion reached is that the process differs depending on the moment in which the total quality management system is introduced.     

Old habits die hard: A tale of two failed companies and unwanted inheritance

This article examines whether state-owned enterprises inherit the problems and stigmas resulting from the actions and inactions of their predecessor firms. In this direction, we advance two main theories of inherited background: the “wanted inheritance” and “sins of the father” perspective. We shed light on this issue using the cautionary tale of two failed companies: Ghana Airways (GA) and Ghana International Airlines (GIA). Our data indicate that GIA acquired some wanted inheritance such as former employees and their expertise, but this was accompanied by unwanted inheritance such as tainted ‘image’ and years of dissatisfaction of their customers from Ghana Airways, which affected its operations and precipitated its untimely demise. We conclude by outlining the implications of our findings for management and governments.